The high cost of a presidential visit

Bush's visit raised $600,000 for Chocola campaign.

Bush's visit raised $600,000 for Chocola campaign.

February 26, 2006|JAMES WENSITS Tribune Political Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Significant costs were associated with President Bush's visit here last week. Some, but not all, of those costs were borne by U.S. Rep. Chris Chocola, R-2nd, who collected more than $600,000 from the Thursday fundraiser at Bethel College. Chocola spokesman Brooks Kochvar said that in addition to paying all costs associated with the event itself, most of which went to area vendors, the Chocola campaign had to send a check for $40,000 to the Republican National Committee to cover hotel and other costs associated with the presidential visit, including a portion of the cost of Air Force One. Kochvar estimated the overall cost of the event at $100,000, including the $40,000 check to the RNC. Costs incurred by the advance team and others will be billed to the RNC, which keeps the account open "for about a year" to make sure all costs are paid, Kochvar said. The campaign will get a reimbursement check if any money is left, Kochvar noted. The $40,000 payment, he said, was based on a formula that has been in place since the Nixon administration and is followed whenever the president travels for political reasons. The formula does not include any reimbursement to local government. Kochvar said the formula is in place to keep the taxpayer from paying the full cost of political travel and "because the president is always the president" and does not have the option of not flying Air Force One. According to Kochvar, the costs associated with the trip were tallied before the president's arrival and paid in advance. Extra business Few could be happier with the presidential visit than Fred Domenick, general manager of the Marriott Hotel in downtown South Bend. In addition to hosting the president's hour-and-a-half stay in the presidential suite, the hotel also provided rooms for White House advance people, Secret Service agents and others connected with the trip. Domenick said the number of occupied rooms varied from a low of about 25 on Feb. 17 to a high of about 70 the night before Bush arrived. In an effort to compute the costs, the hotel manager estimated that the number of occupied rooms averaged about 50 a day for six days, all charged at the $74-per-day government rate. That adds up to about $22,200. The estimated total does not include the 11 percent rate for state and local taxes, nor the $8-a-day charge for parking vehicles used by those guests. Even the presidential suite, which can command $1,000 a night on a football weekend, was billed at $74, Domenick said. Then there was the cost of food. "Those people have to eat," said Domenick; although some ate at the hotel, most guests went out into the community to eat. Domenick's wife, Astrid, made salsa for the president. Domenick didn't charge for the salsa, but it was about the only thing that was free. On top of it being an honor to host the president, "It's not a bad piece of business," said Domenick, who noted that many of the rooms would have otherwise been empty. Costs to local government South Bend Mayor Stephen J. Luecke estimated the total cost to his city for the presidential visit to be less than $10,000, including police overtime charges. Luecke said having the president in town means wanting to provide traffic control and making sure he is properly escorted. Although he would not normally expect reimbursement for a public event, Luecke said that when it's a campaign event, it would be nice if the formula referred to by Kochvar included reimbursement to local governments for their expenses. Congressional contender Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, took a similar stance. "We obviously want to protect the commander-in-chief," said Donnelly, who added that because the president was only here for the fundraiser, Chocola "ought to have the decency to pay the costs involved and not place that burden on the shoulders of the hard-working men and women of this community." Mishawaka costs yet untallied The numbers aren't in on what the visit cost the Mishawaka Police Department in overtime. "We should have it by Monday," said Jerry Schroder, assistant chief of the service division. "We have people who haven't turned in their timecards yet." Schroder said he doesn't want to guess because of controversy over who should pay for security for the visit in Mishawaka. A couple of Democratic members of the Mishawaka Common Council, James Benjamin, D-5th, and Dale "Woody" Emmons, D-1st, have said they think Chocola should pay the costs because the city's finances are tight. Pasquale Rulli Jr., president of the Mishawaka Fraternal Order of Police No. 91, issued a press release saying members voted to not accept any offer of overtime pay in connection with Bush's visit. But enough of them did volunteer for the visit to be covered. Chief Ken Witkowski said earlier that some people's hours were changed to help keep overtime at a minimum. Maj. Jim Weisser, of the St. Joseph County Police Department, said the visit cost his department a maximum of $500 in overtime. He said the department used 20 volunteer reserve officers and detectives, and people normally on road patrol were used for security. "On the other hand, they weren't doing what they're supposed to be doing," he said. Neither the Toll Road or Bremen posts of Indiana State Police paid any overtime. But a spokesman said they did rearrange some days off. Tribune Staff Writer Sue Lowe contributed to this report. Staff writer James Wensits: jwensits@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6353